Barn fire claims 300,000 chickens

Fire occurred at Fassio Egg Farms in Utah

A family-run egg operation in Utah’s Tooele County is beginning to rebuild after a barn fire killed about 300,000 chickens on Tuesday.

The fire started at Fassio Egg Farms at about 7:30 a.m.

Two three-storey chicken barns were lost in the fire, which officials suggest may have started with machinery.

“It’s just a maze of chicken cages and conveyer belts, with eggs going from one end to the other (inside the barns),” John Stout, North Tooele County Fire Marshall, told Fox 13 on Sept. 5.

More than 100 firefighters from a number of fire departments, including the Grantsville Fire Department, Terra Fire Department and Stockton Utah Fire Department, helped get the fire under control by about 1:30 p.m.

Firefighters used about 150,000 gallons of water to fight the fire – and that almost wasn’t enough.

“Water is the biggest challenge in a small community and we wish we had more of it,” Ryan Willden, North Tooele Fire District spokesman, told Fox 13. “You do the best that you can with what you have available.”

The operation has been in the Fassio family since 1915 and its employees know there’s a long road ahead of them before everything is back to normal.

“Our company has a history of taking care of its employees,” Corby Larsen, vice president of operations, told Fox 13. “I’m sure we will do the same here but we’ve got a lot to do to get back on track.”

There were no reported human injuries in the fire and no estimated dollar value of the damage has been released.